Little Shirley

Photo Prompt by Anshu Bbhojnagarwala

“I can do it! I just need a ‘lil more concentration.”

“Liar! You’re just trying to get attention ‘coz you don’t have friends! Loser!”

Shirley bit back her tears. She knew she could do it. She had done this before. She closed her eyes, ignored the laughter around her, and extended her hand towards the pile of woods. She thought of a big, orange-y fire…

Then, the flame suddenly burst wildly from the pile of woods.

The kids stopped laughing. Someone screamed. They were all shocked, including Shirley. She quickly composed herself to brag.

“Hah! See! I can do magic! So back off, all of you!”

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Several feet away from the kids, Glinda smiled and pocketed her wand. ”Now, they won’t bother you anymore, sweetie.”

This is originally 100 words, written for Friday Fictioneers. Thank you Rochelle for the prompt. I just edited it a bit for my blog. 🙂

© Ruth Nuylan, Flash Fiction

The Swimmer

I’m ready.

I have prepared too long for this. I didn’t know how to swim because of the fear of drowning but I took the risk and tried. I practiced different swimming strokes day and night until I perfected every single one. I even looked for the best swimsuit and bought oxygen for underwater breathing. This time, I know I’m ready.

Wearing my swimsuit and goggles, with the heavy oxygen on my back, I neared the edge and poised. Then I jumped into the water.

It only got me injured and confused… because my head hit the bottom.

It took me a lot of sweat to practice swimming and prepare all the swimming gears. No one bothered to tell me that those aren’t necessary.

I hit rock bottom because it was not as deep as I had expected. Heck, it was not deep at all.

Alas! It was only a puddle.

Why didn’t I see that?

Should I go buy boots?

Credits to the owners of the photos. Saw it on Google.

© Ruth Nuylan, Random Thought

SUNRISE AND SECRETS

Photo Prompt: Renee Heath

It’s been a month since our wedding and everything feels so surreal. Life at home did not even cross my mind for a minute.

It’s colder today but it can’t stop the sun from showing its rays proudly. I drowned myself in it knowing this will be the last day I’ll be enjoying the sunrise. I want to stay in this moment forever, but I’ll be leaving him soon. Tonight, I’ll tell him my secret.

I’ve got only a few months to live. I kept it from him because I don’t want to ruin what we’ve built. I regretted it now. When I tell him, he’ll be the one ruined.

For now, I just want to enjoy this moment.

This is written for Friday Fictioneers. Thank you Rochelle for the prompt.

© Ruth Nuylan, Flash Fiction